is the word 'diary' better than the word 'blog'? probably not.

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help me revise my findings.

What happened to being a man?

It distresses me that, the older I get, phrases such as "men are disappointing," "men are unreliable," or even "cock and balls seems to be some form of hereditary retardation" seem to be less a kind of man-hater's statement--whether as joke or true bitterness--and more a form of truth claim provable by induction!

Induction is the name for the kind of reasoning that begins with observation of occurrences in the world--events, patterns, the like--and, using that evidence, comes to a conclusion. (Unlike deduction, which begins with a general theory and leads specific conclusions, induction begins with specific evidence to lead to a general conclusion.)

Deduction:
All men are mortal
Socrates is a man.
Therefore Socrates is mortal.

Induction:
Man X cheated on his girlfriend.
Man Y lied about his college degree--and no one even asked!
Man Z only likes women who are of such an age that they could be his daughters.
And so on.
Therefore, men are disappointing.

It's not that all men are evil. It's not that I don't love and like various men in my life. It's not that women can't be disappointing. And of course it is always dangerous to come to a universalizing conclusion based on specific evidence... there always is the possibility that you'll come across a man who doesn't fit the bill. Like if you say that all cats have whiskers because you've never seen a cat without whiskers, it doesn't mean that there truly are no cats without whiskers. It just means you haven't seen one.

But, well, if you find a cat without whiskers or a man who doesn't disappoint, let me know. I'll revise my findings.

Sorry guys. I know it must be hard to be a man in this culture. I am guessing it must. And so I exhort you to be strong! Be true! Be brave! Be a man in such a way that I have to revise my findings.

2:22 a.m. - July 06, 2010

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